Tausi Insider

So you want to lay a curse on your enemies? I’m not going to judge—I’m sure they deserve it. But if you want to hex, jinx, bedevil, imprecate, and otherwise lay down powerful gris-gris on your foes, you better do it right. So follow our no-nonsense guide to practical cursing using two of history’s most famous methods of malediction. A history of cursing The specifics have been lost to history, but the first curse was probably delivered by the second person who ever lived. Maybe it was something like, “Og want rock fall on you.” Uttering solemn words or performing rituals intended to invoke supernatural harm or punishment to others is present in so many different cultures and in so many different ways, I can’t present them all. S o rather than paralyzing you with options, I’m going to provide step-by-step instructions for how to curse people in the controlled, ritualistic style of the Ancient Greeks (if you like a project), and in the more free-flowing, performative cursing style ...

Photo : Claire Lower I love ham and roasts and all of the potatoes and pies, but December is, to me, Snack Season. It’s the time for texturally pleasing, salty bites, and the more you have, the merrier you’ll be. In addition to salt, there are two flavors that turn a good snack into a great one: Umami and tang. Worcestershire sauce has both. “Umami & Tang” may sound like an insufferable natural wine bar, but they are important flavors that can do important things to your party spread. I’m sure I could think of a party snack that isn’t improved by Worcestershire sauce, but it would take a long time, and it’s not a particularly fun thought experiment. All of my favorites are made better by its presence, provided you get the real deal stuff with fermented anchovies and tamarind. Anchovies bring the deep savoriness and a little bit of funk, while tangy, fruity tamarind brightens and balances. Start by adding it to a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce ( along with prepared horseradi...

Photo : Irina Vinnikova ( Shutterstock ) This is one of the lesser-known Christmas myths, but to be honest, it would be pretty cool if true. The story goes that Sami shamans in Scandinavia would dress in red and white to match the colors of the psychedelic Amanita mushrooms they peddled. In the winter, they couldn’t make their door-to-door sales due to snowstorms blocking many doors, so they would climb in through the chimney. The mushrooms would then be hung to dry, for example on branches of a tree brought inside for that purpose. Unfortunately, the details don’t check out. Houses and yurts of the area were not built in ways that would block the occupants in all winter; there’s no documentation of mushrooms being distributed this way or dried on indoor trees when they could just be hung in more convenient ways; and Santa’s red outfit came from a different European tradition entirely. But it is true that there is a Scandinavian tradition (among the Sami people, in particular) ...

Photo : ESB Professional ( Shutterstock ) Does your gym bag reek ? You’re not alone, but it also doesn’t have to be this way. With proper care, you can keep your workout gear stink-free. Just do yourself a favor and start taking care of everything before it starts to smell. ( But even if you’ve already let things get bad, we have tips for you.) Rinse your gym clothes as soon as you take them off A lot of gym clothes these days are made of synthetic fabrics , because they provide stretch or sweat-wicking features to keep us comfortable. The downside is that bacteria can cling to synthetic fibers in a way that makes them nearly impossible to wash off. So it’s important that we don’t let those germ colonies grow in the first place. The bacteria I’m talking about are the ones that digest your sweat and skin oils. I know, gross. But that means it’s not the sweat itself that causes stinking, but rather the bacteria that multiply while your sweaty shirt is sitting in the laundry bas...

Photo : Claire Lower I love ham and roasts and all of the potatoes and pies, but December is, to me, Snack Season. It’s the time for texturally pleasing, salty bites, and the more you have, the merrier you’ll be. In addition to salt, there are two flavors that turn a good snack into a great one: Umami and tang. Worcestershire sauce has both. “Umami & Tang” may sound like an insufferable natural wine bar, but they are important flavors that can do important things to your party spread. I’m sure I could think of a party snack that isn’t improved by Worcestershire sauce, but it would take a long time, and it’s not a particularly fun thought experiment. All of my favorites are made better by its presence, provided you get the real deal stuff with fermented anchovies and tamarind. Anchovies bring the deep savoriness and a little bit of funk, while tangy, fruity tamarind brightens and balances. Start by adding it to a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce ( along with prepared horseradi...